San Francisco car fires

Somebody's setting cars on fire in San Francisco. This morning's San Francisco Examiner dead tree edition had this big, end-of-the-world headline on the front page: "CAR BLAZE VANDAL TERRORIZES CITY".

Sure, it's a big inconvenience to lose your car, and I realize some people depend on their cars for their livelihood, but are people in San Francisco really cowering in fear at the risk of losing their automobiles?

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Comments:

Fritz,

I agree that we're all against this automobile phenomenon in America. Look, even I don't drive a damn car. But posts like this are a little obtuse. After the events of 9/11, I'm hardly surprised if a group of people or even a city are alarmed if there's car set ablaze. What if this was a suicide bomb? You must be living in fancy if you think this country is invincible.

=v= In all seriousness, I think "Anonymous" and Jarvik are way over the top in their remarks about bicycle advocates. Fritz is quite rightly pointing out that the coverage is overwrought. A car operated normally is a far greater threat, even to drivers themselves.

A sober appraisal of these realities is what everyone ("driving people" included) is what's most sorely needed here.

If folks can't handle that, then maybe they should just stick to reading the funnies.

A car operated normally is a far greater threat, even to drivers themselves.

Dear Jym,

Put yourself in the shoes of a cyclist and try arguing bluntly that cycling is dangerous when done "normally". You will be accused with spreading scare tactics. (hey been there)

Same thing in case of cars. It is blunt to suggest that a car driven normally is a threat. Threat to what? Where is that threat specifically coming from?

It makes more sense to suggest that car operated normally is a threat to one's physical health or it can be dangerous when your text and drive, in the same way saying you riding a bicycle normally maybe dangerous to the rider because the brand of bicycle you ride has been known to fail in operation. A sensible person driving a road vehicle is not to be bluntly classified as a 'threat'.